Recommended Posts

Do I really need to explain the definition of 'bottleneck' again?

 

The HDD was clearly a bottleneck if you noticed improvements, even if those improvements were 'Not much noticeable improvements" - or "Not very noticeable improvements" (Which would be the proper way to phrase it)

 

I really don't need to justify performance improvements, little performance improvements are made all the time and over time they equate to large improvements. 

 

Sure, but again I would say that if you're looking to make improvements over time to the hardware, you really should be PC gaming.  Consoles aren't meant for that.  It defeats the entire point of them.

Having to ship your console to MS because the drive died is a "petty little thing". Of course, you also have to insult everyone else who disagrees with you. I doubt anyone cancelled their preorder over removable storage, they likely never had a preorder to begin with.

MS had better hope kinect and HDMI input are "awesome features" worth the $100 price hike to consumers. I don't think they will be.

Replacing the PS3 drive with an SSD leads to noticably faster load times. Also see http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/digitalfoundry-can-ssd-upgrades-boost-ps3-performance

If the HDD fails you have to ship it in for service in any case, the HDD you out in will be blank, no software, not OS not nothing.

Do I really need to explain the definition of 'bottleneck' again?

 

The HDD was clearly a bottleneck if you noticed improvements, even if those improvements were 'Not much noticeable improvements" - or "Not very noticeable improvements" (Which would be the proper way to phrase it)

 

I really don't need to justify performance improvements, little performance improvements are made all the time and over time they equate to large improvements.

You're not going to win except in your own mind. I have one, with an SSD, and I say the HD is not a bottleneck to the negligible, minor, and probably placebo, if nothing else, absolutely minimal improvements you might see if you look hard enough. But then again, if you stare at three unequal lines on a piece of paper long enough, you may come out of it thinking they are in fact equal.

I'm more inclined to concluded the OS, XMB, and R/W are optimized and maybe you notice minor improvements based on the sheer speed of putting in an SSD, maybe, if you look hard enough. Clearly, it's SATA interface is more of a bottleneck than the HD. It is of practically no meaningful performance value, IMO, to put an SSD in a PS3 unless you just happen to have one lying around.

I promise you if you replace a HDD in a PC, in which a physical HD is a bottleneck, you won't need a microscope to try and find a minute improvement, if you hold it just right.

You are of course entitled to your opinion.

Here's a great vid I found on SSD performance on a PS3. This guy does a pretty good job in his measurements and his explanations of everything, between install times, load times, and taking into consideration all the hindrances such as the Bluray drive or how the game opts to load data.

 

 

Based on what? Is there any research or figures in this area? Or is this just more of "If MS doesn't do it they must have a very good reason why" kind of stuff?

 

Frankly, when it comes to giving consumers what they want MS isn't exactly winning any awards.

 

 

I'm not sure why its hard for you guys to accept that there are more people out there that don't even consider upgrading a hard drive in a console. I agree that I like having the option, but I also know from first hand experience that I was the only one replacing my drive in that manner on the ps3 among the people I knew that had one.

 

Its just like a pc. Lots of people own them, but aren't interested in replacing any parts themselves.

 

Its funny that MS is seen as so anti consumer and Sony is so pro consumer. My how things change from year to year, etc.

 

To me, I don't see MS doing this on purpose as in doing it to spite those of us that would like the option. They must have weighed the value versus the 'cost' of implementing it and found it lacking.

PS3/PS4 Replacable Hard Drive.......

Xbox One has none of those advantages, and a whole bunch of negatives........

 

 

I have to disagree on a few of those points. I don't thinks its so one sided.  Here is how I would break it down:

 

PS4:

 

Negatives:

1. 2.5" form factor limits capacity vs larger external models

 

Positives:

1. Can replace the internal drive without voiding warranty to add space or performance

2. Can send just the hard drive back to Sony in case of a failure. Sony doesn't offer data recovery.

3. Setting up a new hard drive is relatively simple with a flash drive

 

X1:

 

Negatives:

1. Hard drive not replaceable

2. Have to send whole console back to replace a failed drive. MS doesn't offer data recovery.

3. Using an external means another device to deal with (even if its in a 2.5" enclosure)

 

Positives:

1. Option to use any external hard drive to act as internal drive (i.e. not proprietary)

 -External drives can be bought for prices in line with bare drives so buying a bare drive for a ps4 or an external for the X1 isn't that different

 -External drives are not limited to the 2.5" form factor so you have much higher capacities to choose from

 -An external using USB 3.0 will not lose performance like 2.0, allowing even an ssd to be used and see a performance boost to the system

2. External is easy to setup, just plug in and step through the process. 

 

Your points about how much MS might charge for out of warranty repairs is speculation at best. Both Sony and MS charge to repair a console out of warranty. I kind of doubt MS would charge you as much to replace an internal hard drive out of warranty as their proprietary hard drive enclosures cost at retail. You comparing retail accessory pricing to repair pricing.

 

Your right about the cloud storage though. You cant play games by streaming.

 

The reason MS added such robust external storage support is thanks to the Win 8 core. The 360 was held back by its OS (no NTFS support) and USB 2.0 ports, so using externals was a pain. Now the support is there by default and won't be locked to a proprietary form.

 

 

I have been trying to find info regarding external support on the ps4. Does anyone know if it has full support for using one as if it was an internal drive (i.e. store everything) like the X1. I never tried that with my ps3, so I don't know if it could do that. If the ps4 matches the external options of the X1, than its not a difference at all.

Having to ship your console to MS because the drive died is a "petty little thing". Of course, you also have to insult everyone else who disagrees with you. I doubt anyone cancelled their preorder over removable storage, they likely never had a preorder to begin with.

 

MS had better hope kinect and HDMI input are "awesome features" worth the $100 price hike to consumers. I don't think they will be.

 

Replacing the PS3 drive with an SSD leads to noticably faster load times. Also see http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/digitalfoundry-can-ssd-upgrades-boost-ps3-performance

Im not trying to insult anyone... But complaining over a HDD swap is petty. It really is, in the grand scheme of the console. What if their using business class Hard drives (I know I'm stretching it here, but hey)..

Awesome Features:

Cloud is an awesome feature (clown it now, but as bandwidth improves the world over.. It will show)

Xbox Live just evolved into a new kind of beast

Snap

Tv,tv,tv, sports, sports,sports, Skype, party chat, voice chat, jump between instances of games and play a game while another game queues up, jump to my match when it's ready. And never changing the channel on the tv.

Coming home from long day of work and while doing things "Xbox on", Xbox play Forward Unto Dawn.. Oh my friend is skipping me, Xbox answer call... All while making sure my kids are taken care of

Yep that alone is worth the $100... and interactive original content as well... Yep... Definitely worth it...

I suggest we try to keep this on the topic of hard drives. You guys insisting on blowing this up into another general console discussion is just cluttering up the thread.

 

Anyone have info on how externals are treated on the ps4?

Sony has not given any information to external HDD and how they function wit ps4...

PS3/PS4 Replacable Hard Drive:

+You can use a larger/faster drive than the stock drive for more room and/or better performance.

+Doesn't void the warranty.

+You don't have to send the console in to Sony if your HD fails. You can buy a new HD and install the OS on it, then restore your files from a backup.

+Internal is faster than external, esp. with hybrid or SSD drives.

+Third party drives are much cheaper than MS's proprietary ones.

+PS4 also supports external storage devices.

Xbox One has none of those advantages, and a whole bunch of negatives:

-External drive enclosures are an extra expense.

-You have to send your console in to MS if the non-replacable drive fails. And no, MS isn't going to recover the files off the dead drive for you, that kind of diagnostic data recovery service is expensive.

-You can't install or run games from "the cloud", that's not what the """unlimited storage""" is for.

-MS will probably take you for a ride to replace the internal HD, given how expensive 360 drives are. That's on top of the shipping costs.

As usual the PS4 comes out ahead by far in the all important storage category.

I remember reading a while ago that the drive is non-replacable because making it replacable would cause airflow/heating issues, and the X1 was ordered to be near silent. The X1 being quieter than the PS4 might be one of the few advantages it has, although we don't know the noise levels of PS4 yet.

By the way, we don't know if either drive is a hybrid w/ flash cache. Obviously if one of them was a hybrid and one wasn't, the hybrid would have a speed advantage.

Actually I put a spare 128GB SSD into my PS3 and save game load times were noticably faster. I expect a real benefit for putting an SSD in PS4 as well.

This is not a big deal as you are making it out to be. Game Saves are saved in the cloud.

Once you purchase digital downloads and you delete them off your hard drive you can download them again.

Microsoft is using the hard drive for more than Sony is using it to gain speed, thus the HDD hybrid Flash drive.

This will speed up the experience you get with the Xbox One...

*********************************************************************************************

If you want to cry about something, lets cry about not having the ability to turn off the light on the PS4 controller.

1) The light is bright reflecting off of your TV and putting black masking tape over your new controller is non-sense.

2) It takes up battery power of the controller for no good reason (there is no added purpose for it to be there sucking up battery power).

3) It's really annoying to have that on all of the time

Imagine slapping a nice SSD in that baby!!

Hopefully they'll have native SSD support.  The PS3 could use SSDs but it couldn't take full advantage due to lack of TRIM and limited Sata1 speeds.  From my research it was still MUCH faster than using a traditional hard drive.

 

Who wants to use an external?  lol, that's lame.  Internal FTW.

I suggest we try to keep this on the topic of hard drives. You guys insisting on blowing this up into another general console discussion is just cluttering up the thread.

 

Anyone have info on how externals are treated on the ps4?

 

Nicely put!

 

Thread Cleaned

Imagine slapping a nice SSD in that baby!!

Hopefully they'll have native SSD support.  The PS3 could use SSDs but it couldn't take full advantage due to lack of TRIM and limited Sata1 speeds.  From my research it was still MUCH faster than using a traditional hard drive.

 

Who wants to use an external?  lol, that's lame.  Internal FTW.

An SSD is nice, very nice. However, they are too expensive for what size you get. The best bet is to use a hybrid of both technologies and that is what Microsoft is apparently doing.

That is why they won't let you change out the hard drive like you were able to do with the 360.

Because if you put a normal HDD in there things will slow down and you will have a crappy experience.

Sony isn't using a hybrid drive so you can put whatever drive you want inside. For me, I will choose

the Flash hybrid HDD, because you get some of the performance of an SSD with the storage of an HDD.

If you need more space, just add in a USB 3.0 external drive and call it a day. All of the saves are stored on a "Server" and not on the HDD.

Games are stored on your HDD and that is about it.

I did a quick search and couldn't find anything definitive online, surely you have a souce for that claim.

04:51 - 05:13 "Flash Cache"

It's in this video. "Listen for the words "Flash Cache". Beyond 3D which is a 3D chip and specification web forum pointed it out.

Flash Cache is used with the Hard Drive to keep the system functioning quickly.

Sorry, that I don't have where they said this specifically, but it is in there.

It's in this video. "Listen for the words "Flash Cache". Beyond 3D which is a 3D chip and specification web forum pointed it out.

Fair enough, I'll assume it's in there. I suppose MS bet on these hybrid drives adding a significant boost to performance compared to platter drives. I can't wait to see comparisons between platter/hybrid/SSD drives in a console. As a future PS4 owner, I'll add the drive that best balances price, size & performance.

  • Like 1

Fair enough, I'll assume it's in there. I suppose MS bet on these hybrid drives adding a significant boost to performance compared to platter drives. I can't wait to see comparisons between platter/hybrid/SSD drives in a console. As a future PS4 owner, I'll add the drive that best balances price, size & performance.

By the way, I found where it was in the video and updated my post. If you look at 04:51 - 05:13 "Flash Cache" then you can see what I mean. This is by default for everyone. What they are trying to do is make it so that you get the quickest result of playing a game with very little to no load times.

So, one of the biggest advantages of a hybrid is that you have the space of a 500GB hard drive, but it performs more closely to an SSD. This allows them to have something cheaper in the box, with near performance of an SSD which can improve their console quite a bit. It's a good trade off.

You guys have to understand that the Xbox one is better designed than you think, I would go so far to think that the Xbox One is designed better than the PS4. Sure, the GPU might be better on paper, but the Xbox One is a really innovative design of a console. It's pretty well thought out.

Things like not being able to change the hard drive are done on purpose as you might imagine, if you put a regular hard drive in there you are going to kill your performance.

An SSD is a neat option for these consoles, but I have a hard time justifying the cost for such a small capacity. I'd rather have a 1tb in my ps4 than a 120gb ssd, even with the performance advantage.

 

I already own a 2tb usb 3.0 external that I could use with either console, so I hope Sony offers the same support as MS. If not, I'll look at buying a new hard drive for the ps4 and use my external just on the X1.

at least PS4 owner who replace the internal HDD with 1TB drive, will have to wait longer than XBox One owner before they have to resort to external ..

Well, it's a trade off. Microsoft will have a lot of performance with that and everyone will have access to that performance out of the box.

Microsoft's solution is much more thought out.

USB 3.0, will have at the very least almost 5 Gigabits of performance. A high end SATA would have 3 Gigabits, so you are still fine with loading it off of a USB 3.0 drive as well.

I'm not following your post. You say the future of storage is external, but you post a picture of a wastebasket. Are you saying we would throw things away instead of upgrading them?

 

(Not sure if serious - but that's the new Mac Pro - which has virtually no ability to upgrade anything, in particular storage, without external drives. The joke was that if Apple's not allowing user-replaceable components on their flagship desktop then surely it must be the future...)

Well, it's a trade off. Microsoft will have a lot of performance with that and everyone will have access to that performance out of the box.

Microsoft's solution is much more thought out.

USB 3.0, will have at the very least almost 5 Gigabits of performance. A high end SATA would have 3 Gigabits, so you are still fine with loading it off of a USB 3.0 drive as well.

 

USB 'Max' Transfer rate is 5Gbps and SATA 3 is 6Gbps (its not high end its the current standard).

Regardless of the USB max transfer rate the external HDD will never reach those speeds, the HDD is the bottleneck in regards to transfer rate over USD or SATA.

I've personally noticed that USB powered HDD's are the slowest, then its USB mains powered HDD's, internal HDD's, Hybrids and then SSD drives are the fastest.

 

Also the PS4 will support external hard drives like the PS3 and has two USB 3.0 ports like the Xbox One.

This topic is now closed to further replies.
  • Posts

    • Google Pixel 11 series: Here's what to expect by Hamid Ganji Google Pixel 10 series In recent years, Google has successfully turned its Pixel devices into worthy contenders in the smartphone market. The search giant is now preparing to launch the Pixel 11 series in just a few months, and many Pixel fans are likely wondering what Google has in store for them this year. The next lineup of Google smartphones includes four devices: the Pixel 11, Pixel 11 Pro, Pixel 11 Pro XL, and Pixel 11 Pro Fold. This year, we don’t expect Google to bring revolutionary upgrades to its handsets, and the Pixel 11 series is likely to receive modest hardware improvements alongside a slew of AI-powered features. Here are the rumored specifications of the Google Pixel 11 series ahead of its official debut: When will the new Pixel phones be unveiled? The last two generations of Google Pixel phones (Pixel 9 series and Pixel 10 series) were launched in August, unlike the previous three generations that debuted in October. With that in mind, we expect Google to unveil the Pixel 11 series sometime in August 2026. The exact launch date has yet to be confirmed. Google Pixel 11 CAD renders - Image via AndroidHeadlines How much will the Pixel 11 series cost? Predicting the final price of upcoming smartphones has become increasingly difficult. As you may know, RAM and memory prices are rising sharply, leading to significant increases in the cost of consumer electronics. Recently, Apple CEO Tim Cook said that price increases for some future Apple products are unavoidable, suggesting that the iPhone 18 series could become more expensive. Google has remained tight-lipped about any potential price increases for the Pixel 11 series. If the company manages to maintain last year’s pricing structure, here’s what the lineup could cost: Pixel 11: $799 Pixel 11 Pro: $999 Pixel 11 Pro XL: $1,199 Pixel 11 Pro Fold: $1,799 Given current market conditions, it may be difficult for Google to avoid raising prices unless it adopts cost-saving measures, such as equipping the base model with 8GB of RAM. Google Pixel 11 series anticipated specs: We expect the Google Pixel 11 series to debut with a new Tensor G6 processor as well as an upgraded camera system. The overall design, however, is expected to remain largely unchanged across the lineup. Specifications Pixel 11 Pixel 11 Pro Pixel 11 Pro XL Pixel 11 Pro Fold Display 6.3-inch LTPO AMOLED / 120Hz refresh rate / up to 3100 nits of brightness 6.3-inch Super Actua LTPO OLED, 120Hz refresh rate, up to 3600 nits of brightness 6.8-inch Super Actua LTPO OLED, 120Hz refresh rate, up to 3600 nits of brightness 8-inch inner screen and 6.4-inch outer display, 120Hz refresh rate, up to 3600 nits of brightness RAM & Processor Tensor G6 / 8-12GB of RAM Tensor G6 / 12-16GB of RAM Tensor G6 / 12-16GB of RAM Tensor G6 / 16GB of RAM Storage options 128GB or 256GB 256GB, 512GB, 1TB 256GB, 512GB, 1TB 256GB, 512GB, 1TB Camera 50MP main sensor, 13MP ultra-wide, 10.8MP 5x telephoto, 10.5MP front camera 50MP main camera, 48MP ultra-wide, 48MP telephoto with 5x optical zoom, 42MP selfie camera 50MP main camera, 48MP ultra-wide, 48MP telephoto with 5x optical zoom, 42MP selfie camera 50MP main camera, 10.5MP ultra-wide camera, 10.8MP telephoto camera, 10MP front camera, 10MP inner camera Battery 4,840 mAh 4,707 mAh 5,000 mAh 4,658 mAh Software Android 17 Android 17 Android 17 Android 17 The Pixel 11 series won’t be a major departure from its predecessor, with Google instead focusing on subtle improvements and AI additions such as Gemini Intelligence. However, a patent filed by Google suggests the company is working on a removable battery for its smartphones, and we could see this feature make its way to the Pixel 11 Pro Fold. Given that nearly all smartphones today lack removable batteries, such a feature would be a welcome addition to future Pixel devices. That said, it may not arrive with this year’s lineup after all, and the final decision is yet to be made by Google. The Pixel 11 series could also face an uphill battle in the market. In the Android segment, Samsung is performing well with the Galaxy S26 series, while the Galaxy Z Fold 8 lineup is also expected to launch next month. On the other hand, Apple is preparing to unveil the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max in September alongside its first foldable iPhone.
    • At least AMD is still taking Windows 10 seriously (after the oops) before it consumer extended support ends.
    • So size is the ONLY selling point????? People have been plugging in PC's to TV's in living rooms for 20+ years. I would take a bigger box for more peformance. Also lot and lots of SFF/Mini ITX build guides out there.
    • My point is, if you buying this instead of a console for TV purposes, that you need to understand that you will not be able to play the most popular MP games with Steam OS. Now if you are not into those games, and into some of the perputual alpha/beta games on Steam then this is an option. I would argue a gaming PC would be the better route, more expensive but take the 1k -1.4k you are about to spend on this thing and build a better one. Because it is running Linux you can overide its 1080p settings. However The Verge complained about its 1080p cap and how you would have to get around it at the CLI, so someone buying this instead of a PS5 or Xbox might have a challege on their hands.
    • A review of Synology's BeeCamera software for the BeeStation Plus by Christopher White Synology is leaning into the BeeStation and the BeeStation Plus, and it's easy to understand why. While power users will want something more customizable, the BeeStation and its more powerful sibling, the BeeStation Plus, are great for those who want a device they can simply plug in, click a few buttons, and have it work as their own personal cloud. Until recently, the device was mostly used for the storage of files, photos, and videos, and with the Plus model, you could install and stream media through Plex. Synology recently released a new free application for the BeeStation Plus called BeeCamera, which is basically a stripped-down version of Surveillance Station. First, let's get the confusing naming out of the way. While you might initially think that BeeCamera is a physical device, perhaps a camera that Synology created specifically for the BeeStation Plus, that would be incorrect. BeeCamera is simply the name for the application that runs on the NAS and on your mobile device. I think the marketing team missed the mark here, but it does fit the other naming on the device, like BeePhotos and BeeFiles, I guess. Camera Support As of right now, only Synology-branded cameras are supported, which many will see as a callback to the drive locking the company implemented and then backtracked on. That said, while I 100% disagree on drive locking, I agree that camera locking for a device made to simply plug and play is the right decision. The whole point of the BeeStation line is simplicity. There are currently three camera model lines available, a wireless device for indoor use, and two PoE models for external use. CC400W (Wi-Fi): Plug it into power using the included power adapter, and connect it to your wireless network. This camera is rated only for indoor use and is the one I was provided to review the BeeCamera. $198.36, in line with the Unifi G6 Compact. BC510 (PoE): A bullet-style camera. Connect it to an Ethernet cable that is providing Power over Ethernet (PoE). This camera is rated for both indoor and outdoor use. $240. TC510 (PoE): A dome-style camera. Connect it to an Ethernet cable that is providing Power over Ethernet (PoE). This camera is rated for both indoor and outdoor use. $240. Although this isn't a review of the actual Synology camera, I did want to note that a positive for the Synology CC400W is that it uses a magnetic base. This means you can mount it on any magnetic surface, which is pretty handy. However, a downside to the camera is that it's powered by a built-in USB cable that's about six and a half feet (two meters) long. This means that the cable will probably be either too long or too short, but more importantly, if the cable is damaged at all, you'll likely need to buy an entirely new camera because there doesn't appear to be a way to replace it, unlike many competitors, like the Unifi G6 Instant. Hopefully, this is something Synology addresses in a future revision of the hardware. The BeeStation Plus supports up to four cameras. Setup The setup of BeeCamera is, like everything in the BeeStation family, very straightforward. Simply make sure you're on at least version 1.5 of the BeeStation OS, and BeeCamera is automatically installed on the device. BeeCamera Setup Screenshots Setting up the CC400W was just as easy. Plug it in, open up the BeeCamera app, and follow the on-screen steps to add the camera. During this process, you'll configure the camera name and how many days of retention you want to keep. The system will also automatically update the firmware for you. The whole thing took only a couple of minutes, excluding the time it took for the camera to update the firmware. Once the camera is connected to the BeeStation Plus, you can manage the various camera settings within the app, although there aren't many to choose from. You're able to configure whether the microphone will record audio (some privacy laws may preclude you from recording it), select what codec to use (H.264 or H.265), configure the color and exposure of the camera, and determine what data you want to overlay onto the video. Finally, you can set up AI detections so that BeeCamera will alert you if it sees certain things. These are all of the common detections you would expect in a camera system, such as people, pets, and vehicles. Under people and vehicles, you can also add extra monitoring for lingering and congestion detection, although pets are currently in "Lab" and therefore have no extra features yet. Recording in 4K using H.265 for 30 days will take roughly 300 GB of storage, which is very reasonable for most regular households, as the BeeStation Plus has 8TB of native storage. If you want to set up detection zones, you can. These are areas that BeeCamera will look at for the various detections, and are helpful if, for example, there's a tree in your frame and you don't want to be notified each time the wind makes the branches move around in the frame. Finally, you can also schedule when the camera should and should not be recording, which is a very useful feature. For example, you may want to record only at night when you're sleeping, but not during the day when you're up and about the house, so you can easily shut the camera off between 8 am and 10 pm. Each hour of each day can be configured to record continuously, only upon a detection event, or disabled completely. You can't fine-tune to record at a specific time, though, only hourly blocks on the hour. Daily Use The best part of BeeCamera is that it's easy and just works. If you only care about being notified when things happen, the mobile app sends those notifications and lets you click the button to bring up the video and see what's going on. For example, when I went out of town and had the camera pointed at the cat tower in our hallway, it was nice to be able to drop in and check that my furry friends were doing okay without me. Initiating the remote connection to the BeeStation Plus through the app is very responsive, but this will heavily depend on your ISP. In my case, using Xfinity, I'm able to go from starting the app to seeing live video in roughly three seconds, which is about the same amount of time it takes to connect to my Unifi UNVR system that costs much more. If you want to see footage from a specific day and time, you can do so using the calendar icon. You can also scroll through the timeline, looking for detections that are labeled in blue (vs. the normal gray when there's nothing of interest). There are buttons that let you go to the last/next detection on the timeline, which is helpful if you missed the notification on your mobile device. That's where the ease of use stops, though. While you can download clips that are flagged by detection, there's apparently no way to select generic time frames you're interested in, and the only place to download is to your phone. In addition, sharing a video shares the actual video, not just a link back to your BeeStation Plus. While that's good from a security and privacy perspective, it's a little awkward for sharing large videos. Limitations While the ease of implementation is great, there are some things that are lacking from BeeCamera. The most obvious is that there is no way to view the footage on the desktop. You can log in to the BeeStation Plus to see how much storage BeeCamera is using, but unlike BeePhotos and BeeFiles, there is no BeeCamera on the web console to manage or view footage. This means you'll be viewing all of your security footage on your mobile device, which is pretty limiting. In addition, there's no way to download the video to your PC without first using your phone as the intermediary. The one exception to this is that you can use BeeFiles to see the raw MP4 files. They're saved in 5-minute increments, and it's just raw data with no detection information or any other way to identify what any of them are. The lack of a way to interact with BeeCamera on the desktop also makes configuration of the cameras more difficult. For example, trying to set up detection zones using a tiny screen and your finger to draw boxes is more cumbersome than it needs to be. This reinforces the idea that BeeCamera is not made for power users. It's also missing some of the more advanced functionality of Surveillance Station. For example, I couldn't find a way to say, "Alert me if the thing in this zone is no longer there." Another major deficiency with BeeCamera, and a feature I suspect may come out in the future, is that while it can detect generic people, there is no specific facial recognition yet. This is an interesting omission, given the fact that other Synology tools can detect specific individuals, and competitors such as Unifi Protect also do it. This is probably a software limitation, so we will have to wait and see if this feature is added in the future. Conclusion If you need a security guard to monitor surveillance cameras to make sure your property is secure, then BeeCamera is not the solution for you. That said, you probably wouldn't be using a BeeStation Plus as the brains behind the system either. BeeCamera (and BeeStation in general) is clearly aimed at households that want to avoid sending personal data to Google and Amazon, and now want to add some cameras to keep an eye on their home and their pets while they're away. BeeCamera excels at doing this. The target market isn't interested in creating cases, tying multiple views together in a single pane of glass, or the like, and for the intended use case, the system works great. Where it starts to fall apart a bit is with more advanced features. Not being able to use a desktop app is a major compromise in my opinion, and having to do all of the configuration on a mobile device is annoying, but not impossible. If you don't want to have a full-fledged NAS device in your home, but still want control over your data (or maybe want an easy way to backup your data for World Backup Day), and want to add a couple of cameras to keep an eye on your house and your pets, this is a great, cheap, and easy way to go, and I suspect more functionality will come over time. If Synology releases a desktop app or at least a way to configure cameras and view footage on a desktop browser, this would be a near-perfect solution for a general home user. As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases.
  • Recent Achievements

    • One Month Later
      timbobit earned a badge
      One Month Later
    • One Month Later
      nates earned a badge
      One Month Later
    • Week One Done
      Almohandis earned a badge
      Week One Done
    • Rookie
      dorf went up a rank
      Rookie
    • First Post
      mike_rumble earned a badge
      First Post
  • Popular Contributors

    1. 1
      +primortal
      476
    2. 2
      +Edouard
      172
    3. 3
      PsYcHoKiLLa
      104
    4. 4
      Michael Scrip
      88
    5. 5
      Steven P.
      70
  • Tell a friend

    Love Neowin? Tell a friend!